Pump shaker



y 14, 1963 M. JOHNSTON 3,089,428

PUMP SHAKER Filed March 27, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR MarvinJohnston ATTORNEY May 14, 1963 M. JOHNSTON PUMP SHAKER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed March 2'7, 1961 Fig.3

Marvin Johnston ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,08,428 PUMP SHAKERMarvin Johnston, Pampa, Tex., assignor, by direct and mesne assignments,to J. M. Huber Corporation, Burger, Tex., a corporation of New JerseyFiled Mar. 27, 1961, Ser. No. 98,412 14 Claims. (til. 103-179) Thisinvention relates to oil well pumps and more particularly to a devicefor freeing a stuck valve of an oil well pump.

Much petroleum is produced by pumping it from deep within the ground. Atypical operation includes a pump within the ground operated by a suckerrod from the surface of the ground. Often foreign material such as sandor parafiin gets in the pump causing a valve of the pump to stick in theopen position. There are two possible methods of unsticking the valve.One is to pull the pump from the well and clear the valve at the top ofthe ground. The other is to shake or deliver an impact to the valve insitu. The second method is preferable if possible.

Various devices and procedures have been suggested for shaking thesucker rod to thus shake the valve in the pump. My invention is animproved device for this purpose.

My device operates by preventing the sucker rod from descending all theway to the bottom of the stroke by placing a stiff arm between a clampon the polish rod and the stufling box. The polish rod attaches to thetop of the sucker rod and may be considered an extension thereof. Thenwhen the reciprocating structure (horsehead and bridle) reach bottomdead center or there about, the stiff arm is removed allowing the fullWeight of the sucker rod to fall against its reciprocating structure.Generally this results in sufficient impact to shake the valve loose.

An object of this invention is to provide a device for shaking pumpsdeep within the earth.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device which may beoperated by one man.

Another object is to provide a device which delivers a large impact.

Another object is to provide a device whereby the amount of impact iswithin the control of the operator.

A further object is to provide a device which is safe to operate.

A further object of this invention is to provide a device which willoperate with any of several different manufacturers of polish rods and/or stuffing boxes.

Still further objects are to achieve the above with a device that issturdy, compact, durable, simple, and reliable, yet inexpensive and easyto manufacture.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects, uses, andadvantages thereof will clearly appear from the following descriptionand from the accompanying drawing, the different views of which are notnecessarily to the same scale, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a device according to this invention asused on a well just before tripping.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the device after it has been trippedand the impact delivered.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3-A is the same as FIG. 3 limited to an enlarged detail of thebearing bolt.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4A is the same as FIG. 4 limited to an enlarged detail of thedetent.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

As may be seen in the accompanying drawing, an embodiment of thisinvention is intended to be attached to an oil well pump 8.

Piston including valve 12 is located within pipe 14 deep within theground. The piston 10 is operated by a sucker rod which extends from thepiston to above the surface of the ground to polish rod 16. Adjacent thetop of the polish rod 16 clamp 18 surrounds the polish rod 16 and actsas a stop for cross bar 20. The cross bar 20 is supported by cables 22which depend from horsehead 24 which oscillates causing the cables 22 tohave vertical reciprocal motion which is transferred through the crossbar 26* and clamp 18 to the polish rod 16 and sucker rod. Thus, meansare provided to reciprocate the sucker rod. Stuffing box 23 is locatedat the top of the pipe 14 above the surface of the ground. It is meansfor forming a fluid tight seal between the pipe 14 and the polish rod16. Somewhere below the stuffing box 28 outlet pipe 29 conveys the fluidpumped from the pump 8 to a place of storage.

All that has been specifically described above is conventional, theparts are already available on the market, and as such, form no part ofthis invention.

Clamp 30 clamps around the polish rod 16. This extension of the suckerrod is conventionally called a polish rod because of its polishedsurface which works through the stuffing box 28. The clamp 34 includestwo portions with segmental cylindrical cavities 31 which are hingedtogether at 32 and are clamped together by threaded bolt 34. The clamp30 is quite similar to that conventional clamp 18 which forms a stopabove the cross bar 20. One portion of the clamp 3% has ear 36 integraltherewith. It will be understood that it could be Welded to the clamp 30as well as being made integral. The bottom portion of the ear 36 isbifurcated and has a hole through the bifurcation. Bearing bolt 38extends through these holes. It will be noted that the bearing bolt 38has a larger diameter through much of its length than the threaded endwhere the nuts 40 are attached which results in additional strength. Inoperation, the entire weight of the sucker rod will be supported by thisbolt, and strength is necessary. In most cases, the sucker rod willweigh more than a pound a foot. Therefore, in a five thousand foot well,over five thousands pounds will be supported by the bearing bolt 38. Twonuts 4t) are used to lock the bolt 38 securely as is customary.

Rigid arm 42 has flat top connection 44- which fits between thebifurcated portion of ear 36. *It likewise has a hole through whichpasses the bolt 88. Thus, the rigid arm 42 is pivoted to the clamp 30.Roller 46 is connected by pivot bolt 48 between bifurcation 50 at thelower end of the rigid arm 42. The axis of the pivot bolts 48 and 38 areparallel. The pivot bolt 48 is also secured in place by lock nutcombination 52.

Elbow 54 projects from the lower portion of the rigid arm 42. The elbow54 is Lshaped, having a horizontal portion at right angles attached tothe rigid arm 42 and a portion thereafter extending parallel to 42 sothat the end of the elbow is adjacent or opposite the roller 46. At theend of the elbow there is a hole therethrough for third pivot bolt 56.Lever 5-8 is pivoted to the elbow 54 by means of the pivot bolt 56.Lever 58 is pivoted to the elbow 54 by means of the pivot bolt 56. Thelever 58 has lower portion 60 which extends below the pivot bolt andupper handle portion 62 above the pivot bolt. Bearing 64 is on a crookon the end of the lower portion 60 of the lever normal to the rest ofthe lever 58. The axis of the bearing 64 is parallel to the pivot bolt56 which is parallel to the other two pivot bolts. The bearing 64 hastwo rows of ball bearings.

Stop 66 projects from one side of the elbow so that rotation of thelever 58 toward the rigid arm 42 is limited. Spring detent 68 extendsthrough the elbow. Cup 70 is integral with the elbow 54 and has shaft 72coaxial therewith; The shaft 72 is threaded on the end away 3 from thelever 58 and has nut 74 thereon to limit its travel toward the lever 58.The end of the shaft 72 toward the lever has rounded knob 76 thereon.Spring 78 acts between the back side of the cup 70 and the knob 76 topress the detent shaft into depression 80 on the lever.

Operation With the lever 58 held parallel to the rigid arm 42 by thespring detent 68, the device is clamped to the polish rod 16. Thisclamping operation may be performed with the well in operation if thewell is rather slow moving. In any event one man can easily stop thewell and attach the clamp 30. Each half of the clamp 30 hassegmental-cylindrical cavities which are correlative to the polish rod16.

The clamp 30 is placed on the polish rod 16 so that the roller 46 (theoutside surface of which forms a lower bearing surface) is about fourinches below the top of the stufling box 28 when the pump 8 is on bottomdead center. Then with the well pumping and the sucker rod reciprocatingupon the down stroke the device is guided so that the roller 46 isseated on the top of the stufling box 28. It will be noted that thedistance of the top pivot bolt 38 is about three inches from the centerof the polish rod 16. Therefore, the rigid arm 42 angles downward andtoward the polish rod 16 so that the rigid arm 42 will not accidentlyslip from the top of the stuffing box 28.

The device remains in this position until the horsehead 24 reaches thebottom of its stroke. As may be seen in FIG. 1, as the horsehead 24continues its down stroke the cross bar 20 will slide down the polishrod 16 from the clamp 18. When the horsehead 24 gets to bottom deadcenter or slightly thereafter when it begins up, the top handle portion62 of the lever 58 is rotated down and away from the rigid arm 42. Thebearing 64 will pry against the stufling box 28, and therefore move theroller 46 off the top of the stuffing box 28. This will therefore leavethe sucker rod unsupported and allow the full weight of the sucker rodto drop until the clamp 18 contacts the cross bar 20. The free fallingsucker rod will deliver considerable impact or jar when clamp 18 strikescross bar 20 which will be transmitted on down the sucker rod to thevalve 12 and therefore shake the valve 12 free of its stuck position.After the device has been tripped it will be in the position illustratedin FIG. 2.

If desired, upon the next down stroke of the pump the roller 46 may bepositioned again on top of the stuffing box 28 and another impactdelivered to the valve 12. Greater or lesser impacts may be delivered byplacing the clamp 30 nearer or farther from the stuffing box 28.

It will be noted that there will be a slight impact delivered to thepump when the roller 46 contacts the top of the stufling box 28.However, this will not be as great as when the sucker rod is allowed tofall free and be stopped short by the cross bar 20. This is because thehorsehead has a slow, controlled rate of descent in normal operation.

Thus, I have provided a simple, safe, method of shaking a pump suitablefor operation by one man operating alone. It will be understood thatnormally these pumps are operated by a single operator without otherassistance.

I prefer to make the device from a high grade of steel but, of course,the material selected and the details of design will be well within theskill of those familiar with the art.

It will be apparent that the embodiment shown is only exemplary and thatvarious modifications can be made in construction, materials, andarrangement within the scope of the invention as defined in the appendedclaims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a well including a pipe extending deep within the ground, a pumpdeep within the ground on the pipe, said pump having a valve to controlthe flow of fluid within the pump, a sucker rod connected to the pump,said sucker rod extending within the pipe to the surface of the ground,a stuffing box on top of the pipe to form a fluid tight seal between thepipe and the sucker rod, and means for reciprocating the sucker rodrelative to the pipe; the improved means for shaking the valvecomprising: a clamp clamped to the sucker rod above the stuffing box, arigid arm pivoted to the clamp, a bearing surface on the lower end ofthe arm resting on the top of the stufling box, an elbow attached to thearm extending adjacent the bearing surface of the arm on the stuffingbox, and a lever pivoted to the elbow, a portion of said lever restingagainst the pipe; so that rotation of said lever forces the bearingsurface from the top of the stuffing box allowing the sucker rod to fallfree for a limited distance.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the lower portion of therigid arm is bifurcated, a pivot bolt extending between thebifurcations, and a roller mounted for rotation on said pivot bolt, theouter surface of said roller being said bearing surface designatedabove.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 with the addition of a stop onthe elbow limiting the rotation of the lever toward the rigid arm, ashaft extending through the elbow, a spring biasing said shaft towardthe lever, and said lever having a depression therein opposite the shaftso that the lever is normally maintained by the shaft in a positionadjacent the stop.

4. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said clamp has twoportions which are hinged together, each of said portions having asegmental-cylindrical cavity therein, the cavity fitting on the suckerrod.

5. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said arm angles towardthe sucker rod from the clamp to the stufling box.

6. An improved shaker for a well; said well including a pipe extendingdeep within the ground, a pump deep within the ground on the pipe, saidpump having a valve to control the flow of fluid from the pump, a suckerrod connected to the pump, said sucker rod extending within the pipe tothe surface of the ground, a stufling box on the top of the pipe to forma fluid tight seal between the pipe and the sucker rod, and means forreciprocating the sucker rod relative to the pipe; the improved shakercomprising: a clamp adapted to be clamped to the sucker rod above thestuffing box, a rigid arm pivoted to the clamp, a bearing surface on theextreme end of the arm from the pivot, said bearing surface adapted torest on the top of the stuffing box, the arm having an elbow extendingto the side and adjacent the bearing surface of the arm, and a leverpivoted to the elbow, a portion of said lever adapted to rest againstthe pipe so that in use rotation of the lever forces the bearing surfacefrom the top of the stuffing box allowing the sucker rod to fall freefor a limited distance.

7. The invention as defined in claim 6 wherein the lower portion of therigid arm is bifurcated, a pivot bolt extending between thebifurcations, and a roller mounted for rotation on said pivot bolt, theouter surface of said roller being said bearing surface designatedabove.

8. The invention as defined in claim 6 with the addition of a stop onthe elbow limiting the rotation of the lever toward the rigid arm, ashaft extending through the elbow, a spring biasing said shaft towardthe lever, and said lever having a depression therein opposite the shaftso that the lever is normally maintained by the shaft in a positionadjacent the stop.

9. The invention as defined in claim 6 wherein said clamp has twoportions which are hinged together, each of said portions having asegmental-cylindrical cavity therein.

10. In a valve shaker comprising: a clamp, a rigid arm pivoted to theclamp, said clamp being means for attaching the rigid arm to acylindrical rod, the arm having a bearing surface on the extreme endfrom the point pivoted to the clamp, the arm having an attached elbowextending adjacent the bearing surface, and a lever pivoted intermediateits ends to the elbow; so arranged and constructed that the clamp may beattached to a sucker rod of a deep well pump, the bearing surfaceresting on top of a stuffing box and the lever bearing against a pipebelow the Stufling box, so that rotation of the lever will pry thebearing surface from the top of the stuffing box.

11. The invention as defined in claim 10 wherein the extreme end of therigid arm is bifurcated, a pivot bolt extending between thebifurcations, and a roller mounted for rotation on said pivot bolt, theouter surface of said roller being said bearing surface designatedabove.

12. The invention as defined in claim 10 with the addition of a stop onthe elbow limiting the rotation of the lever toward the rigid arm, ashaft extending through the elbow, a spring biasing said shaft towardthe lever, and said lever having a depression therein opposite the shaftso that the lever is normally maintained by the shaft in a positionadjacent the stop.

13. The invention as defined in claim 10 wherein said clamp has twoportions which are hinged together, each of said portions having asegmental-cylindrical cavity therein.

14. In a well including a pipe extending deep Within the pipe; theimproved means for shaking the valve comprising: a clamp clamped to thesucker rod above the stuffing box, said clamp having two portions whichare hinged together, each of said portions having a segmentalcylindricalcavity therein, a rigid arm pivoted to one of said portions of saidclamp, the lower extremity of the rigid arm being bifurcated, a pivotbolt extending from one bifurcation to the other, a roller mounted forrotation on said pivot bolt, the outer surface of said roller bearing onthe top of the stufling box, the arm angling from the clamp toward thesucker rod at the bearing, the arm having an elbow extending adjacentthe roller, a lever pivoted to said elbow, a portion of said leveradjacent the pipe, a bearing mounted on the portion of said lever nextto the pipe, said bearing resting against the pipe, a portion of thelever extending above the point where the lever is pivoted to the elbow,a stop on the elbow, said lever against the stop thus limiting therotation of the lever toward the rigid arm, and a shaft extendingthrough the elbow, a spring biasing said shaft toward the lever, saidlever having a depression therein opposite the shaft so that the leveris normally maintained by the shaft in a position adjacent the stop; soarranged and constructed that rotation of said lever forces the bearingagainst the pipe thus forcing the roller from the top of the stuflingbox, allowing the sucker rod to fall free for a limited distance.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,418,043 Wilcox May 30, 1922 1,929,827 Roberts Oct. 10, 1933 2,839,947Chamberlin et al June 24, 1958 2,851,287 Tangard Sept. 9, 1958

1. IN A WELL INCLUDING A PIPE EXTENDING DEEP WITHIN THE GROUND, A PUMP DEEP WITHIN THE GROUND ON THE PIPE, SAID PUMP HAVING A VALVE TO CONTROL THE FLOW OF FLUID WITHIN THE PUMP, A SUCKER ROD CONNECTED TO THE PUMP, SAID SUCKER ROD EXTENDING WITHIN THE PIPE TO THE SURFACE OF THE GROUND, A STUFFING BOX ON TOP OF THE PIPE TO FORM A FLUID TIGHT SEAL BETWEEN THE PIPE AND THE SUCKER ROD, AND MEANS FOR RECIPROCATING THE SUCKER ROD RELATIVE TO THE PIPE; THE IMPROVED MEANS FOR SHAKING THE VALVE COMPRISING: A CLAMP CLAMPED TO THE SUCKER ROD ABOVE THE STUFFING BOX, A RIGID ARM PIVOTED TO THE CLAMP, A BEARING SURFACE ON THE LOWER END OF THE ARM RESTING ON THE TOP OF THE STUFFING BOX, AN ELBOW ATTACHED TO THE ARM EXTENDING ADJACENT THE BEARING SURFACE OF HE ARM ON THE STUFFING BOX, AND A LEVER PIVOTED TO THE ELBOW, A PORTION OF SAID LEVER RESTING AGAINST THE PIPE; SO THAT ROTATION OF SAID LEVER FORCES THE BEARING SURFACE FROM THE TOP OF THE STUFFING BOX ALLOWING THE SUCKER ROD TO FALL FREE FOR A LIMITED DISTANCE. 